Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Why is it that every time my favorite 80's cover band, Tainted Love comes to NYC I can't go? I made it for their first appearance at BB King’s, their 2nd appearance was September last year when I was in California & their 3rd appearance was Friday, 9/24/10. WTF!? Tainted Love can't you check with me first before you book in NYC? I'd really appreciate it.

Maybe if luck is on my side when I'm in Nor Cal at the end of October they'll be at Last Day Saloon in Santa Rosa...

I know that taking care of me was exactly what my Mom wanted to do for her birthday. Saturday was a little rough, didn’t take to the vicodin so well (that whole taking painkillers on a full stomach is a MUST) and getting use to the drains took some time. But I survived thanks to some Gatorade & Pedialyte. I also received a nice surprise on Saturday, a delivery of flowers from Michael (and Brian).

Sunday, 9/26/10: Dad arrives

Sunday my Mom was going to rent a car & drive to Bayonne to pick my Dad up from their cruise but because I wasn’t event 50% of Saturday we had a car pick him up and bring him back to my apartment. Nothing really special happened on Sunday except Dad made my first real meal; pork chops, wild rice, broccoli & cauliflower.

Monday & Tuesday, 9/27-28/10: It’s a cozy apartment

It’s been very cozy in my tiny apartment. My Dad likes it cold, my Mom likes it warm and I like it just right. But even though it’s my apartment – it’s freezing! Dad is SO paying my Con-Ed bill this month. Sleeping has been difficult since I’m not all drugged up, my back hurts and I can’t stay asleep. I’m ready for when I don’t have to have my chest elevated (Might take an ambien tonight to ensure I at least get 8 hours). Other important notes of progress: I can sit up & walk by myself now. It use to be a dual effort to get up & move around but now I’m doing it all by myself. I might be slow but at least I’m moving. I was officially off the vicodin as of Monday; just have some soreness in my chest (obvious).

Tomorrow I take my big adventure to the Doctor’s office to get my bandages & tubes removed. The tape itches and I’m hating the tubes, so tomorrow can come any sooner. Plus I want to see what they really look like!

Woke up WAY to early on Friday since we had to be at the hospital by 6am. I let my Mom get pretty before I even rolled out of bed. What did I have to get pretty for? I wasn’t even allowed to put on eye or face cream, wtf?! Hello, dry skin. When my Mom & I left the apartment at 5:30am it was still dark and I was somewhat concerned if we’d even get a cab since 2nd Ave was deserted. But NYC cabs never fail and within a minute or two at least were barreling down the street. Got to Tische at 5:45am (always early) and was called in to the patient holding stalls (aka Pre-surgery consulting room) by 5:50am to start the magical day.

*My note to NYU 10th floor day surgery folks: put some magazine in those stalls and give better directions after changing into those awesome gowns. I sat in that room totally bored and confused because I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next for about 20 minutes before the first round of nurses/doctors came to visit me. A magazine or something besides the poster on the wall on relaxation techniques would have been a nice. I did watch the sunrise though.

OK, back from tangent. My Mom was finally allowed to come keep me company around 6:30am and then the fun began. I met with nurse one, my Doctor’s intern, the Anesthesiologist, my Surgeon and then one more nurse (Jeanette, I think) who walked me to Operating room # 10. Mom finally got to ask how long the surgery would take, 3 hours—give or take. I never needed to know I was going to be asleep.

Once in the OR I met all the other nurses and they were hilarious. They asked if I was taking time off school for the surgery, that’s what I get for not wearing my glasses or any makeup. Anyways, I mentioned that I worked in Marketing/Advertising at Lord & Taylor and they went crazy. As usual, L&T is their favorite store (I really need to start traveling with coupons)! They mentioned last year’s Fashion’s Night Out and the Fire Fighter calendar signing. I laughed because I have the same calendar in my office. We chatted about FNO & L&T for a while till my surgeon came in and I’m sure he felt a little out of place when we were talking about all the cute Fire Fighters, lol. IV in, oxygen mask on, compression socks massaging my calves, dreaming of a far away beach & I was out. Apparently according to my Anesthesiologist (can that not be the hardest word to spell, geese) I’m a typical redhead, I needed A LOT of drugs to keep my under and I woke right up after the surgery. My surgeon found my Mom in the waiting room and informed her that he was really pleased with the results. Well, that’s good to know.

Woke up in recovery and had the nicest nurse, Frank. Can I just say Frank was AWESOME! I was totally loopy (a given) and every time I told Frank my Boobs hurt he pumped me full of drugs. Could a girl ask for more? Frank was my protector, he made sure I stayed put in one of his recovery bays. Everyone else around me was moving from their bed to the chairs on the other side within an hour or two, not me. When it was time for me to move to a chair he brought the chair to my bay & told the orderlies to be careful with me since I just had a very painful surgery. I was in recovery from 10:30 till about 4pm, and within that time I got a rainbow popsicle, graham crackers, gingerale, lots of painkillers and sleep. While totally loopy, I kept telling Frank he was the best nurse I’ve ever had. I’ve had a few surgeries and by far Frank stands out as a totally awesome guy who really cares for his patients (or at least the ones the really likes). When Frank had to take his lunch break he switched off with another nurse and gave her the rundown and he made sure I was in good hands. I asked for Frank’s contact information, since I want to send him a letter and a Friends & Family coupon so he can continue his obsession with sneakers and his wife can get a new purse too.

Cab ride home was a little rough, not that the cab driver didn’t drive very safely and made sure not to do the standard stop/go routine of an atypical cab driver (I think he figured he should be a “good” drive since he picked up his fare at the hospital) but it was all the pot holes on 1st that really killed me. I had to hold my new boobs for the duration of the ride.

Once home I felt like a narcoleptic, awake for 5 minutes and asleep for 30. Mom was ensuring I had my vicodin every 4 hours and my antibiotic every 6. Shelly stopped by around 8pm to see me & she stalled in the front entry when she saw me. She said “they’re so small!” then we held up my mold and realized there is a BIG difference from before and after.

I woke up Friday morning a 34FF and ended up going to bed at 34D, they took 500 grams (roughly 1.3lbs from each boob). I got some small tatas now (for me at least).

The idea to mold the ladies was conceived in the car with Becky, Shelly & Rob (Rob drove, he did not participate in the conception conversation) when we were all in Philly for the engagement party. After waiting not so patiently for the mold kit to arrive (it was supposed to arrive on Tuesday and didn’t show up till Thursday—not so happy with Amazon’s current shipping situation) Shelly came over after work to help me commemorate the last night of my ginormous tatas. I greased up while Shelly turned my living room into an art studio. Moved my rug back, put a drop cloth down that covered my entire living room & began cutting up strips of plaster of paris. My Mom only laughed and provided color commentary and the hot water. Then the adventure of molding began, I wont go into graphic detail but lets say it was a memorable evening sitting in my living room. It was great way to spend the night before my surgery having a few laughs and realizing my boobs were really THAT big.

Monday, September 13, 2010

My Dad is being animated for my nephew; see the tiny hand in the corner

So my parents came into the city on Saturday so I could drive them to Bayonne, NJ to catch a cruise to Canada for two weeks on Sunday morning. But the point of this is post is that my parents have an amazing relationship. While sitting on the couch flipping between college football & the news my Mom effortlessly curled up into my Dad and I thought I want that someday. Someone who you can cuddle up with, who knows exactly where your body fits into theirs. They’ve been married since 1974, that’s 36 years of effortlessly fitting together (I’m not sure all 36 years have been effortless, but so far its worked). My Dad still teases my Mom, she gets frustrated and we all laugh (at her). But I can only hope that I find something that lasts as long and is as special as theirs.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Yes, these are my beach chairs and they are still sitting in my hallway from last Saturday on Fire Island. Really don't want to bring all the sand into my apartment, so I'll wait just a little while longer till I finally break down, clean them off & put them away for the Fall & Winter.

****Update: Someone told on me! I got a letter from my management company stating that I was breaking numerous agreements in my rental contract. WTF?! Who was I bothering? Whatever.

Its Shelly’s last month in NYC and we need to make a lot of Shelly/Alyssa time happen before the more, so we had dinner Wednesday night at her place. Shelly made me Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti; it was like Mac & Cheese with chicken and the macaroni substituted with spaghetti. And let me tell you, it was delicious! We chatted, I saw pictures of her new place in Princeton Junction, drank some South Carolina wine and picked our Survivor Football picks for the week (Atlanta & Giants). Overall a very good Wednesday Night.

My best friend Megan came for the long weekend and it turned out to be by far one of the best weekends I’ve had in the city in a long time. The weather was amazing and only made our adventures that much more fabulous.

Thursday Megan arrived and I was so proud of her, she took the subway from JFK to my place. For someone who’s only been to the city twice, I was amazed (mainly because I often have issues taking the subway to JFK—but my travel woes are a different story)! We met Sara at Brother Jimmy’s for dinner and a few drinks (OK it was a lot of drinks & some random shots too) before heading home for a crumbs cupcake to satisfy a drunken craving.

I was so jealous of Megan sleeping on Friday morning when I had to get up for work, I wasn’t feeling 100% and just looking at her sleeping pissed me off. It was my last 1:00pm summer Friday and I couldn’t have been more grateful and in mourning at the same time. Megan met at work then we ventured into Times Square for an old tradition, the OG (Olive Garden) for lunch (its one of those Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell kind of situations). We needed to reminisce and catch up over unlimited salad & breadsticks. After lunch we walked up to Central Park and meandered around for a bit but not before stopping at the M&M store for a little dessert. We made a stop at the Bethesda Fountain and found some cute little turtles swimming near the Boat House. Did you know turtles love peanut butter M&Ms? They’ll practically jump out of the water for that sweet little morsel of pb & chocolate. After walking from Times Square through Central Par back to my apartment we had big plans for Friday night; dinner out and then my couch. Then of course we had to watch a sappy tearjerker of a movie (Damn it Megan!).

Turtles love Peanut Butter M&Ms

We had an early Friday night only because we had to prepare ourselves for the adventure to Fire Island on Saturday Morning. Since we wanted a full day at the beach we had to get up early for the exodus out of the city. I don’t think Megan was prepared for all the modes of transportation it takes to get some sand between one’s toes. Cab > LIRR (with a transfer in Jamaica) > Shuttle > Ferry, then reverse for home (that’s why most people go for the weekend not just the day). The weather on FI was amazing but we hit a sand storm at 11:45am that lasted for about two hours. Now I think I know what it must be like to be in Iraq (minus the intense heat, gunfire, and lack of beach), there was sand all over my stuff! Megan had a very creative way of protecting herself from the pelting sand. Once the wind had died down the day was amazing until high tide. 3:45pm high tide and that was it. We were both asleep on our towels till we woke up to water rushing right over us. Wet and disoriented I’m running down the beach trying to catch my sunglasses & shoes before they’re lost forever in the surf. By the time we put ourselves back together we’re at the top of the dune with two towels that are soaking wet, covered in sand and probably weigh about 30 pounds. Decide we should probably leave the beach since we can’t recover from high tide and we were starving. Pack up all our stuff and Megan sacrifices her beach bag for the towels and head for the town square. Half way up the beach I can feel the towels dripping down my butt & leg, we stop at a bathroom and weigh our options. (1) Take towels home & do what with them? Or (2) ditch towels and buy new ones next year. We chose option two and casually walked away. We had lunch and then took the long ride home. Exhausted from the sun (and a little burnt) we opt for delivery and Legally Blonde 2.

Do you see all that sand?

Megan's very creative way of keeping the sand away

Sunday was Open day. Megan & I woke up early again for day tickets to the US Open. We made the trek to Queens for a day of tennis. We got to watch V. Williams vs. Peer and Nadal vs. Simon. By the Nadal/Simon match we were baking in the sun reapplying sunscreen like it was our business (OK I was reapplying like it was my business, Megan just reapplied). We spent half the time watching the matches and the other half making remarks about people’s food and what looked good to eat. Another easy night at home on the couch watching 48 Hours (or something).

Monday Funday!! Finally slept in and then made our way to the West side for some day drinking at The Frying Pan. Enjoyed some margaritas, delicious food, amazing weather and good company. Megan & I gossiped about everything, caught up on life and determined that Megan thinks she could live in the city, but only during certain months. Don’t remember much else because after a few hours and pictures of margaritas we made it back to the East side for Blockheads for dinner and then ceremoniously passed out at 8pm.

Always Thirsty

Don't worry, we shared

Then Tuesday morning was a little rough & just sad because Megan left back for the Left coast (tear*) and I had a minor hangover. So that was Labor Day weekend.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

My sink had a bought with IBS: Came home one night from a work event (aka happy hour) and my sink had exploded. There was black crap EVERYWHERE and it smelled. I don’t think I would have been so calm about it if I hadn’t had a few drinks. It took me at least 2 hours to clean everything up and it was disgusting.

Jersey Weekend: At the end of July I went back to Jersey for an end of summer family BBQ and the Toby Keith concert. During dinner some how wigs were mentioned and then ceremoniously brought out, and below is what happened.

Who knew Annie was a drinker

When I sent the photo to my Mom I think she nearly peed her pants and then she showed it to my Father who then asked, “She can get that fixed, right?” Oh, Daddy!